Step 1 • Do some research
Artwork: Patricia Reyes, Manila
The first step starts with the Journey Book
Take some time to find out more about the National Park City movement. It’s important that you have a good understanding of our shared aims and values.
Start by reading our Universal Charter for National Park Cities – nationalparkcity.org/charter and go through each of the 10 steps of our Journey Book.
The Universal Charter for National Park Cities sets out a unifying ambition and shared set of goals for the National Park Cities movement. The document was co-created by people from over 50 countries during a year-long process and will continue to evolve in the future. It’s at the heart of our movement.
You should also take a look at the website of some of the established and nominated National Park Cities; like London, Chattanooga, Breda, or Rotterdam.
You can also join our online community, and come along to one of our regular ‘What if your city was a National Park City?’ online meetings to find out more about the movement, meet people from other cities and ask questions – we list these on the community and our Get In Touch page.
Once you have some understanding of the National Park City idea, it’s time to ask people in your city for their opinions.
Find Out What People Think of the Idea
Before going any further, ask some people what they think about the National Park City idea. Start simply asking some friends, family and colleagues. Can they imagine your urban area joining the National Park City movement or becoming an established National Park City? What do they think the benefits will be?
When you’re feeling comfortable and confident, we strongly recommend you hold a public workshop, forum or other sessions to explore the idea with more people in your urban area.
It’s important to have people from a range of places, backgrounds and interest groups attend your first meeting. The more diverse the gathering, the more you’ll learn. You may need to organise more than one meeting in different areas and settings to achieve this.
When it comes to taking the next step and registering your campaign. Only register and move your campaign forward if people you speak to are generally supportive about exploring and developing the idea further. They don’t have to be completely convinced at this stage, and may have lots of questions, but you should feel there is a positive feeling and enthusiasm towards the idea.
Do not be put off by individuals or groups that raise legitimate concerns or questions, but make sure you both take note of doubts and reflect on them.
When you’re ready to register you’ll need to be confident that you will be able to show the support of at least 200 people from across your urban area. Each of these people will need to have signed up to your initiative. Gatherings can be a useful way to meet new people, build relationships and recruit those supporters.
"From the very start of our campaign we organised lots of small gatherings to ask people ‘What if we made London a National Park City?’. What might the benefits be? What difference could it make? How might it work? These were often attended by just a few people – but those quality conversations and relationships were vital to our success."
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